- Home
- Idioms
- Give an inch and he'll take a mile
Give an inch and he'll take a mile
Give someone an inch and he'll take a mile.
and Give someone an inch and he'll take a yard.Prov. Be generous to someone and the person will demand even more. (Describes someone who will take advantage of you if you are even a little kind to him or her.) If you let Mark borrow your tools for this weekend, he'll wind up keeping them for years. Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.